Dhar is an ancient town. It served (9th–14th century) as the capital of the Paramara Rajputs and was a centre of learning under the celebrated Raja Bhoja (c. 1010–55). It was conquered by the Muslims in the 14th century, was under Mughal dominion, and fell to the Marathas in 1730, after which it was the capital of Dhar princely state, founded in 1742 by Anand Rao Panwar, a Maratha chieftain. Dhar’s Lāṭ Masjid, or Pillar Mosque (1405), was built out of the remains of Jain temples. Its name was derived from a toppled iron pillar (13th century) bearing a later inscription recording the visit of the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1598. Dhar houses the Kamal Maula mausoleum and a mosque known as Raja Bhoja’s school, built in the 14th or 15th century; the school’s name was a reference to its paved slabs covered with inscriptions giving Sanskrit grammatical rules. Just north stands a 14th-century fort, said to have been built by Muḥammad ibn Tughluq, which contains the raja’s palace.

The town, a major agricultural centre, is connected by road with Indore to the east. Cotton ginning and hand-loom weaving are the chief industries.The town has a library, a hospital, a musical academy, and a government college affiliated with Vikram University in Ujjain. The region around Dhar comprises portions of the Malwa Plateau and the Nimar tract, separated by the Vindhya Range. Sorghum (jowar), corn (maize), pulses, and cotton are the chief crops, irrigated by the Mahi, Narmada, and Chambal river systems. Pop. (2001) 75,374; (2011) 93,917.

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